Treesearch

Species ranges are expected to move northward with climate warming. However, species will likely encounter soil conditions that differ from their historic ranges. Black (Quercus velutina) and chestnut (Q. montana) oaks are expected to do well in climates that are hotter and drier, but it is unknown as to how they respond to soils of different geological histories. At a glaciated and nonglaciated site in northwestern Pennsylvania, we compared the growth, biomass allocation, and mycorrhizal association for black and chestnut oak seedlings at two different levels of light. On nutrient-poor,...

Surveillance programs to detect alien invasive pests seek to find them as soon as possible, but also to minimize the cost of damage from invasion. To examine the trade-offs between these objectives, we developed an economic model that allocates survey sites to minimize either the expected mitigation costs or the expected time until first detection of an invasive alien pest subject to a budget constraint on surveillance costs. We also examined strategies preferred by ambiguity-averse decision makers that minimize the expected and worst-case outcomes of each performance measure. We applied...

Dead treetops, their bare branches curving upward, stood dark against a blue sky. Only a few years before, these had been towering, vibrant ash trees, playing a vital role in riparian forest ecosystems of northwest Ohio. Then, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), a shiny green beetle whose voracious maggot-like larva feeds just beneath the bark of the trees, swept through the forests leaving death and destruction in its wake. The emerald ash borer, or EAB, is native to eastern Asia. There, it has little impact on Asian ash species, which are able to mount defenses against the...

A collection of case studies, interviews, and personal reflections inspired by a national workshop, Green Readiness, Response, and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis includes lessons learned from a diverse group of practitioners and researchers about the ways in which environmental stewardship has served as a catalyst for revitalizing communities. Its focus is on practical solutions from various sectors on how to best prepare for, respond to, and recover from disturbances. The book contains a wide range of examples, including social and environmental disturbances and disasters, urban and...

As highly productive and biologically diverse communities, healthy quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides; hereafter aspen) forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services across western North America. Western aspen decline during the last century has been attributed to several causes and their interactions, including altered fire regimes, drought, excessive use by domestic and wild ungulates, and conifer encroachment. Today’s managers need science-based guidance to develop and implement strategies and practices to restore structure, processes, and resilience to the full range of aspen...

The USDA Forest Service was created in 1905 with a mission that continues to resonate and inspire our work today: "To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations." Our emphasis on both land and people is summarized in our motto, "Caring for the land and serving people," in recognition of our civic service, the fundamental importance of nature to human health and well-being, and our desire to awaken and strengthen all people's connection to the land. "Caring for the land" represents our commitment...

Over the past 150 years, a blink of an eye in terms of human history, our experiences in relation to nature have changed radically in much of the world. Dramatic migration to cities—coupled with urban planning and design that emphasized gray over green infrastructure, inequality, and perhaps an overvaluing of technology—has led many people to be divorced from nature, with little access to nature’s social and ecological benefits. At the same time, stress levels are rising. Though medicine has made incredible advances in recent decades, life spans that had for many years been lengthening are...

Maize (Zea mays mays) oil is a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs) and energy, making it a valuable resource for human food, animal feed, and bio-energy. Although this trait has been studied via conventional genome-wide association study (GWAS), the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-trait associations generated by GWAS may miss the underlying associations when traits are based on many genes, each with small effects that can be overshadowed by genetic background and environmental variation. Detecting these SNPs statistically is also limited by the levels set for false...

Forest canopy water use and carbon cycling traits (WCT) can vary substantially and in spatially organized patterns, with significant impacts on watershed ecohydrology. In many watersheds, WCT may vary systematically along and between hydrologic flowpaths as an adaptation to available soil water, nutrients, and microclimate-mediated atmospheric water demand. We hypothesize that the emerging patterns of WCT at the hillslope to catchment scale provide a more resistant ecohydrological system, particularly with respect to drought stress, and the maintenance of high levels of productivity....

Attitudes toward public forest management actions can be sources of conflict among and between public stakeholders and managers. Understanding these forest stakeholders can help managers engage in planning processes more effectively. Residents of fifteen counties in Wisconsin were surveyed in summer 2013 to understand how management attitudes impacted respondents' acceptance of management at three levels of publicly managed forest: county, state, and national. Results from regression models reveal that similar attitudes consistently impacted stakeholders' acceptance of fire, timber,...